Life-Wolf
by Awesome and I know it
Summary: In the final of the Snake Games trilogy, Acciala is in the Life Quarters. Cole and Lloyd have been taken. With a building rebellion, and Ninjago's freedom on her shoulders, can Acciala handle being the Life-Wolf, the symbol of the rebels? Or will she crumble under the pressure, causing Ninjago into an even worse era.
1. Chapter 1: A Start

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago or Mockingjay.

A/N Here it is! Finally, here is chapter one of the final story in the Snake Games trilogy! Read and please enjoy!

Chapter 1: A Start

Acciala's POV

I stared down at my boots, a thin ash layer started to cover them. Almost nothing remained of the All-Element Quarters. Days before, or maybe it was weeks, the Central Snake, with Pythor as the head, destroyed the Quarters.

Only the very inner parts of Winner's Wonderland survived, even though the luxury houses still took damage.

_Probably saved for the snakes. _I thought bitterly. I had always hated snakes, but at that moment, I truly loathed them.

I walked down what was once a road in the burning remains of what was once the All-Element Quarters. I was so deep in thought; my feet just carried me where they wanted to go. When I came back into reality, I was standing in front of a small shack-like house.

Curious, I climbed into the wreckage. I found a shattered picture frame and, looking at it, I gasped. The picture was of Lloyd, Lord Garmadon, a woman who might have been Lloyd's mother.

I shifted around the wreckage some more until I found another picture. This was of two boys and one girl. The girl looked like a younger version of the woman I saw in the other picture. One boy had red eyes, much like Garmadon's. The other boy, I couldn't tell. I put the picture in my right arm, which was already cradling the family portrait.

I then left the remains of the home to find any survivors. It took me five hours, with help from Garmadon, to convince the leaders of the Life Quarters to let me go.

They saw it as a pointless and stupid trip, but they eventually gave in.

Skalidor, the Head Snakers during the last Snake Games, was the first to give in and let me go.

"Jussst let her go," He told the others, humans and snakes. "Let her have sssssome closure."

"You alright, Acciala?" I heard Faolan's voice in my ear through the chip I was given. It was then that I realized I was sitting on the ground, my knees against my chest.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I told him. I stood up and continued walking in my sub-conscious state of mind.

A few minutes later, I heard a soft groan. I was snapped again into reality and quickly walked over to the pile of dirt and stone the sound was coming from.

After I finally cleared away a decent deal of ruble, what was underneath shocked me. Underneath the stones and dirt was Lou, Cole's dad. Immediately, I saw he wasn't in good shape at all. He looked as if something hit him on the right side of his forehead, just under his temple. His left shoulder was bleeding slowly, but the gash was clearly deep.

"Acciala?" Lou asked, tired and exhausted.

"Lou, don't worry, you'll be alright." I told him, helping him out of the pile. "Faolan, I found a survivor. We need to take him back to the Life Quarters."

"Sure thing, I'll be down in a second." Faolan replied. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Faolan was in front of me, holding onto a latter that dropped from the hover plane. "Who is it?"

"Lou, Cole's dad," I told him. Faolan nodded solemnly, and then helped Lou up the latter and into the hover plane. Suddenly, I noticed something on the ground that made me freeze.

In the dirt, a symbol was scratched out. The symbol was an Ouroboros. In Greek, Ouroboros meant a snake eating its own tail. The Ouroboros was the Central Snake's symbol of power. The space that the snake circled was meant to represent the Quarters and the people of Ninjago.

_This is no accident. This is a message, a taunt from Pythor! _ I thought angrily.

"Are you ready to head back now, A?" Faolan asked through the chip.

"Yeah, I've seen enough now," I muttered venomously as I climbed up the latter after him.

Once I was seated in the hover plane, I just wanted to scream. I wanted to scream about the Ouroboros, about Pythor's maddening persistence, and, most of all, how sick I was with the dictator.

I sat down and started to feel dizzy again. A throbbing pain started growing in my right arm, where Jewel had stabbed out my tracker in the Landscape.

I felt even dizzier, and soon it was hard to know if the dust and dried blood from Lou on my hand was real or if everything was just a dream.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and started an exercise the doctors at the Life Quarters taught me. I started with the simplest thing that I was absolutely sure to be true, and then made my way to not-so-sure topics.

_My name is Acciala. I am seventeen years old. My home was the forest. I was in two Snake Games. I survived. Pythor and the Central Snake despise me. Lloyd and Cole were taken as prisoners. They might be dead. Most likely they are dead. What will I do if they are dead? I love Cole. And Lloyd is so sweet. His father is Lord Garmadon. People say Garmadon is bad, but he's not very bad. Maybe he can change…_

"Acciala? Are you alright?" Faolan asked again. I snapped up. I realized I was again in the same position as before; seated with my knees to my chest. I quickly put my feet back on the floor and I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I responded. I received the same solemn nod as before. Faolan left me alone after that. He knew I didn't want anyone with me on that day. Not even him, my best friend since childhood.

About fifty minutes later, we arrived at the Life Quarters. From above, it looks as happy and cheerful as the All-Element Quarters looked after demolition. The rumble wasn't smoking, like the Central Snake always showed it, but if one was quiet enough, she might have heard a faint howl. Aside from that, there was next to no life above ground.

In the few years since Pythor took over and destroyed the Quarters as a reminder of his power, new development flourished beneath the surface of Ninjago.

The most important thing of the Life Quarters when the Central Snake was involved was the fact that the Life Quarters used to make the Serpentine's nuclear war weapons, and any weapon.

When I arrived, a man from the Light Quarters, Trenk, told me the real story.

"Pythor didn't kill everyone from the Life Quarters, he struck them a deal; play dead and don't communicate with anyone outside your boundaries and we'll leave you alone," Trenk told me.

Trenk also told me why people in the Life Quarters were so happy to see survivors for population increase, as well as breeding.

"Years ago, there was a huge disease outbreak that rendered more than half the population infertile. They want new people, who haven't suffered the disease, to keep their population going." Trenk informed me.

When we landed on the ground and got off the hover plane, I went straight to my assigned room. There, I sat on my bed and put my knees to my chest again. I still held the two pictures I salvaged from the remains of Lloyd's home.

Survivors from the All-Element Quarter passed by my door. Some were happy, others were bored.

The credit for their survival landed on Faolan's shoulders. Even though he's loath to accept it. As soon as I blast open the wall in the Snake Games, all the power in the All-Element Quarter went out. It was Faolan who thought of the forest. He ran through town and herded many people out, including Garmadon and Wu. The people formed a group and tore the fence surrounding the Quarters down. Then they ran into the forest, and lived in caves for three days, surviving off of the food Faolan and other able-bodied people could gather. Then the hover plane came and carried them to the Life Quarters.

In the Life Quarters, the living apartments are all underground, everyone wears the same clothing, and the food was almost tasteless. Nonetheless, the people were safe, fed, clothed, and cared for.

I didn't notice my door open and then close. I didn't notice the tall, black, four-armed man who walked in.

"Acciala?" He asked, getting my attention. For the third time in one day, I snapped to attention. He sat down at the foot of my bed.

"Huh?"

"What did you find?" He asked.

"These." I handed him the pictures. His upper arms took the picture with Lloyd; his lower arms took the picture with the other boys and girl.

"I'd recognize these anywhere." He said.

"Who is that woman?" I asked. My question seemingly saddened him.

"Her name is, well, was, Misako. One day, she went to town to get something, but she never came back. I haven't seen her since." Garmadon sighed sadly.

"Who was she? To you? To Lloyd?" I asked.

"She was my wife, and Lloyd's mother." Garmadon replied.

"And who are the people in the other picture?" I asked.

"This was taken before I turned evil. There's Misako, me, and Wu," Garmadon pointed as he talked.

"You're not really all evil," I told him.

"No, I'm evil," He argued.

"No, Pythor's worse than you." I argued back.

"That's Pythor," He said. "Anyway, I recently found this among my other belongings. Here, I thought you would like it,"

Garmadon handed me a small locket. I opened it to find a picture of Lloyd, smiling brightly. He was smiling as if there was nothing bad in the world, smiling as if Pythor was nothing but an ancient myth. As if everything in the entire universe was peaceful.

It gave me new confidence that Lloyd was alive, and that, in the end, everything would be peaceful and fine.

_He has to be, _I thought to myself. _He just has to be safe. Cole too. Cole has to be okay too. I don't know what I would do with myself if he wasn't._

__A/N How was the first chapter? Please review!


	2. Chapter 2: Plans and Secrets

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago or Mockingjay.

Chapter 2: Plans and Secrets

Acciala's POV

"I think it's almost time for lunch." Garmadon told me, getting off the bed and turning towards the door.

"I might skip lunch. I'm not really hungry right now," I told him. "Oh, and you can have these." I handed him the pictures again that, during my zone out, he placed on my bed next to where he sat.

"You're sure?" He asked, momentarily turning to face me. I nodded, and he took the pictures. "And you're really not hungry?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I assured him, still looking at Lloyd's picture in the locket. "I just need some rest."

He nodded to me, and then left me alone with the locket.

"I'll find you Lloyd. Even if it's the last thing I do," I whispered to the locket. I then lied down and fell asleep quickly.

I woke up a short while later to find a small piece of bread next to my hand.

_ Faolan _I thought. _Only Faolan would even try to sneak food._

In the Life Quarters, there was a cafeteria-like area used as, well, a cafeteria. No one could take food out, though, and the head of the Quarters, President Havas, assigned guards to stand at all the entranceways to ensure no food is taken.

I sat up, with my legs crossed, and slowly picked away at the bread. I thought about what I was then.

The Life-Wolf, the symbol of freedom, courage, revolution, and leadership. And leadership is not what I was good at, or ever wanted to be good at.

Apparently, what I had done before then, defying the Central Snake, angering the snakes, providing the foundation for a revolt, wasn't enough. I had to become a leader.

Thankfully, Havas claimed I wouldn't be alone. She had a whole team of people and snakes to "help out," or basically make me over, write my speeches, order me around on appearance, dress me, as if none of this sounded familiar, and all I had to do is follow what they told me to do. In my mind, if the Life-Wolf was the symbol of freedom, why couldn't I have freedom?

And why did they choose me, the girl who didn't ever cooperate, didn't listen, and just wanted to be alone.

"We should have gotten the little boy," I heard Havas whisper, not so quietly, to Skalidor. I swear I saw him nod slightly in response.

I couldn't agree more. If they had rescued Lloyd, or at least Cole, they would have been fine. Cole was already the leader of the ninja, and no one could say 'no' to Lloyd.

_Probably for the best they took me and not Lloyd. Poor boy would be overwhelmed. Poor cute thing. _I thought sadly. _If they saved Cole, then everyone would be just fine. He's a natural born leader, he listens, and he does what he's told. He'd be stronger and worth more than me any day._

The bread was, as expected, hard and crusty. And cold, slightly cold. That was how almost all the food there was. I sighed. I then realized a metallic object in my hand. I opened my hand to find the locket Garmadon gave me.

_Everyone says he's evil, he's the worst. But, in reality, he's not. A true evil wouldn't care about anyone but himself. If he was really evil, he wouldn't care that his son could die. But Garmadon does care. Pythor doesn't. _I concluded.

The door to my room creaked open, and Faolan walked in. He crossed to my bed and sat down where Garmadon had sat earlier.

"What did you really see?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" I questioned as I put the locket around my neck.

"What did you see, in the dirt, at the All-Element Quarters?" He pressed; his meadow green eyes like lasers into my midnight eyes.

"I…don't want to talk about it. It just, really makes me mad." I told him, fury showing on my face.

"Just tell me, I won't let it slip," Faolan knew I saw something. And he knew how to get it out of me.

"Ouroboros, an Ouroboros," I whispered softly to him. He seemed confused.

"An Ouroboros, in the dirt? How?"

"Pythor left it as a message," I seethed.

"What was the message?"

"It whispers unfinished business to me. Like, 'I can find you, I can reach you, I might be watching you know,'" I told him quietly and quickly. I expected him to doubt me and tell me it was all my imagination. But, he didn't.

"I believe you. Seems like a waste of time though. To draw something in the dirt. It could've been covered by more dirt,"

"It was a faint impression, but a mark nonetheless,"

Faolan nodded, and then looked at his arm. On his arm was a temporary tattoo of his schedule for today. I didn't bother with mine. I never followed it, to me, it was useless.

"I have to go, training exercise start in an hour," Faolan got up and started to walk to the door.  
"Good luck," I lightly called after him.

"Thanks, I might need it," Faolan muttered. Just as he left, I remembered the ink.

Every morning, you were supposed to put your arm into a contraption on the wall in your room. The result was a sticky, non-erasable ink schedule.

**6:45-Breakfast. 7:15-Common Citizen-Kitchen Duties-Soldiers-Morning Exercise. 8:30-Common Citizen Children-Education Hour, Room 42. **And so on. The ink was completely permanent until **21:50-Common Citizen-Bathing-Soldiers-Agility.**

At Bathing, whatever chemical used in the ink finally washed off. By 22:00, everyone, except for the night shifters, was to be asleep, unless they had a good reason not to be. If someone who wasn't on night shift was caught wandering around, he or she would be put under surveillance.

Garmadon swore the night shifters were hiding something when he was caught outside his room. I couldn't blame him. He was nocturnal, in a way, but somehow he ended up on the far-east part of the Quarters, while his room was all the way in the west section.

When the night shifters dragged him back, he made sure to make a scene. He didn't keep quiet the entire way to his room, surely waking up many people. The next morning, poor Havas was bombarded with complaints.

Finally, after arguing with Garmadon the whole day, Havas told the night shifters to let him wander around above ground as long as he didn't wander too far and was back by dawn.

When Garmadon told me the whole story, I laughed. It was the first time I had laughed ever since Lloyd was captured.

But letting Garmadon wander around at night made him tired during the day, so he was always late for breakfast and pretty much the entire morning. Since he was a 'soldier,' he would get into a lot of trouble with the commandants, but he never cared. With four arms, even without a weapon, Garmadon was fine.

"I hate these people. Each and every one of them," He muttered angrily to me one day during Lunch.

"Tell me about it," I responded.

"You're lucky. You have that bracelet that's basically an excuse for everything," Garmadon pointed to my medical bracelet. The bracelet marked me 'mentally disoriented,' so no one could push me around except for Havas.

"Acciala, your presence is requested by Havas at once," A voice told me from my doorway, bringing me out of my thoughts. I sighed, then reluctantly got off my bed and followed the short, stubby, brown-eyed woman to Havas' and her general's meeting office.

The office had the symbol of the Life-Wolf on the wall facing the door, and a long, rectangular table in front of it with chairs on both sides. Havas was almost always in the chair at the end of the table, directly in from of the symbol.

"Acciala, nice to see you again," Havas forced a smile.

"What am I needed for now?" I asked, not even trying to sound happy.

"Nothing at all, dear, nothing at all." I could tell she was lying. "Just, don't watch the TV for the next few days, okay?"

"What are you hiding from me?" I asked, glaring at her.

"Nothing, dear, nothing at all," she repeated.

"Then I think I'll watch some TV later," I told her. By now, she was clearly worried.

"Um, how about this. If you don't watch anything, we'll organize a rescue party for Lloyd and Cole and will be ready to launch next week." I hesitated. I wanted to know what she was hiding, but I needed to make sure Lloyd and Cole were safe.

"Fine, you have a deal." I gave her what she wanted to hear. "But, the rescue team had better be ready by next week or I'll find out what you're hiding one way or another."

"How would you do that, dear?" Havas smiled, though I saw a snicker of victory. I snickered in return.

"Garmadon," I said simply. I then turned around and stomped back to my room.

Just as I was about to enter my room, Sensei Wu walked by.

"Sensei, can I ask you something?" I caught the old man's attention.

"Of course, anything at all." Wu replied, stopping in front of me.

"When you see your brother, tell him I need to talk to him," I whispered to Wu quickly. As I inferred, he gave me a confused look.

"What do you need my brother for?"

"Just tell him I need to talk to him. It might be about Lloyd," I whispered to him.

"Alright, I'll tell him," Wu shrugged.

_Better he not know, just for his own good. _I thought to myself as I walked into my room and closed my door behind me.

"What time is it?" I grumbled to myself. "Doesn't matter, I don't care,"

I walked to my bed and opened the locket. I peered into Lloyd's image; instinct told me Havas was hiding something.

_And that something could have to do with Lloyd. Or Cole. Or both of them. _I mused. _Whatever it is, I'll find out. One way or another._


	3. Chapter 3: Schemes and Thoughts

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago or Mockingjay.

Chapter 3: Schemes and Thoughts

Acciala's POV

I looked up at the small clock in my room and sighed. It was only 15:30, or 3:30 p.m., far away from dinner, which was at 19:30, or 6:30 p.m.

I sighed, and then looked at my schedule.

**15:30-Common Citizen-Reflection-Soldier-Weapon Training.**

_Reflection, more like the time of boredom. What are we even reflecting on? Doom? _I thought. _I need to make a plan. I need to see what Havas is hiding._

Finally, at 16:00, 4:00, when I was supposed to be at Emergency Training, Garmadon knocked on my door. I let him in and immediately closed the door behind him.

"Wu said you wanted to tell me something," Garmadon sounded tired. He probably was.

The previous night, when dawn came, Havas had to send people to look for him. Turned out, he was throwing rocks at a snake all night and got too distracted to keep track of time.

"A few hours ago, Havas told me I couldn't watch TV for the next few nights." I began. "And I feel that she's hiding something."

"Where do I come in?"

"Havas might be hiding something about Cole, or Lloyd. Possibly both." I told him. He was at full attention when I mentioned his son's name. "And she said if I don't watch whatever it is, she'll have a rescue team by next week for Lloyd and Cole."

"So if you can't watch what?"

"She won't organize the teams. I don't even know what it is. I just have a feeling Havas is hiding something." Garmadon thought for a while, and then came up with a plan.

"Havas never mentioned me or Faolan, right?"

"No, she never mentioned anyone but me,"

"So, if Faolan or I watch whatever she doesn't want you to watch, she shouldn't care," His plan started to make some sense.

"Then what?" I asked.

"Then, I or Faolan can tell you what the president is hiding. You'll find out, Lloyd and Cole are saved, everyone's happy," Garmadon finalized.

"And I'll know what she's hiding, without even breaking the deal." I realized. "That sounds great, but, I kind of…mentioned you to Havas."

"Did you mention Faolan?"

"No," I shook my head.

"And we have Wu. He's always quiet, they'll never suspect anything."

"But we need a back-up plan. In case something happens," I thought out loud.

"Like what? Havas takes out the power?" Garmadon meant it as a joke, but it was all too possible.

"She could, she might." I said.

"If she does, isn't one of the ninja a robot?"

"I think Zane is,"

"Problem solved. He can hack into the system and get the information." Garmadon looked at the clock, which now read 16:10, 4:10 p.m. "Or Paula. I hear she's pretty tight with the president."

"I haven't seen Paula in a while. Ever since I was in that hover plane that took me here. I wonder what she's up to. Probably drinking or something," I saw my four-armed friend shake his head.

"No, alcohol isn't allowed here. I think even the rubbing alcohol at the medical center is under tight lock and key," He informed me.

"That's a relief. Gives her time to sober up for once," I stated. The clock was at 16:15 then.

"How much longer until dinner?" Garmadon asked.

"I think it's at 19:30." I checked my arm to be sure. "Yeah, 19:30, so that's about…a little less than three hours."

"I wish time would go by faster,"

"Sometimes I wish that too," I mumbled.

"Acciala, you're needed at once with President Havas," The same woman came to escort me. She frowned upon seeing Garmadon. "Why is he here and not following the schedule?"

"Do you know what my schedule looks like?" Garmadon asked, annoyed. The woman shook her head. "Then shut up."

"Whatever your schedule is, I'm sure it's not time for reflection," The woman stated.

"Stupid schedule, dictating my life." Garmadon muttered as he briskly walked pass the woman and off to whatever he had to do.

"Anyway, what does Havas want now?" I turned my attention to the woman. She seemed offended by me not formally addressing her president.

"That's President Havas to you. No matter, come along now," The woman spun on her heels then walked towards the meeting room. I followed her at my own pace. Several times she had to slow down so I could catch up.

In twenty minutes, double the time it would have taken a cooperating person, we arrived at the large room.

"Acciala, it is so nice to see you well again." Havas smiled the famous forced smile at me.

"What is it now?" I asked, irritated.

"Well, after a long discussion, we feel it is only fair for you to know the whole truth. And nothing but the truth." Havas continued to smile.

"Please stop smiling," I muttered as quietly as I could under my breath. "Anyway, what is this 'truth'?" I asked.

Havas' face took on a serious look. A relief from the annoying forced smiles she seemed to always sport.

"Acciala, we hope this doesn't interfere with your status at all, but there has been a scheduled," I cringed at the word 'scheduled,' but Havas either ignored it or didn't notice. "Interview with Lasha, tonight, and we, at first, didn't want you to know anything about it."

"Who is he interviewing?" I asked. Havas hesitated, looking at her general and five commandants. I got suspicious. "Who is he interviewing?" I asked again, slower that time and with a darker tone of voice.

"Acciala, don't freak out or anything. Lasha issss interviewing Cole." Skalidor told me. Mixed emotions swirled through me.

The first was shock. _Cole's alive? Alive?!_

The second was hope. _If Cole's alive, then Lloyd must be alive too!_

The third and final was disbelief. _I need to see him alive. I need to see that he isn't dead or seriously injured._

"What are your thoughts?" Havas brought me back to reality, thankfully without her smile.

"I need to see him. Prove to me that he is alive," I stated firmly.

"Hm, well, once the interview is broadcasted, we will call you and let you know," Havas promised.

As hope filled me, so did hesitation.

_If I see the interview, will she keep her promise of saving Lloyd and Cole?_

"If I see this, you'll still save Cole and Lloyd, right?" I asked cautiously.

"I said I would organize a rescue team to save them. But yes, your friends will be saved if all goes to plan." Havas assured me. I breathed in relief. "Now then, it is almost 16:45, what does your schedule tell you?"

I looked at my arm.

**16:50-Common Citizen-Social Hour—Soldier-Equipment Training.**

"Social Hour," I responded.

"Not any more," I looked up at Havas to see her forced smile had returned. "Starting tomorrow, you will be ranked 'Soldier,' and will follow the soldier schedule."

"Alright, anything else?" I asked.

"Yes," Havas leaned forward, looking silly in an almost lying position on her stomach. "Until dinner, the medics want to give you a check-up."

I nodded, then turned and made a move to leave.

"And one more thing," I froze, and then turned to face Havas, who had returned to her normal sitting position, still with the forced smile. "Tell your friend, Fallen,"

"Faolan," I corrected her. She nodded as if she didn't have a care in the world, which she probably didn't.

"Yes, Faolan. Tell Faolan if he gets any more food out of the eating boundaries, he'll be in trouble." Havas' voice took a slightly dark turn. I swore she narrowed her eyes for a quick second, before turning back into her forced cheerful self. "Now, off you go."


	4. Chapter 4: Alive

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago or Mockingjay.

Chapter 4: Alive

Acciala's POV

I walked into the medical center and was immediately tended to by the nurses. They made me sit down and gave me some pain killers, then gave me my shots. I gritted my teeth as I got them, I hated the shots.

"Almost done, last one," A nurse told me before injecting me with a large needle that stung like knives. "Now we'll just have to give you more of those pain killers."

"I thought you just did," I told them, angry.

"No, these are especially for your arm. That was a nasty and deep cut you got. Not even a cut, really, more of a ripped muscle." The nurse replied. "Now, just relax, you'll be awake before you know it."

The nurse gave me another shot, and then I fell into a deep sleep. Just as she said, I was awake in what seemed like a minute. When I looked at the clock, it was 18:45.

_I was out for two hours? _I wondered. I looked at my right arm. It was bandaged very tightly, yet stung a bit. I tried to move it.

"Don't move it," A man told me. I looked up to see a doctor. "Don't move it at all, it'll take at least two days to heal."

"Just two days?" I asked, surprised that it didn't have to take a month or more to heal.

"At best, let's hope it heals that quickly," The doctor said. The escort woman from before trudged in the medic center.

"Acciala, President Havas wants you," The woman sighed, before angrily adding, "Again."

"Sure, I'll be there once I'm done here," I looked at my doctor.

"You can go now, your arm isn't very badly wounded," The doctor filled out some forms, and then sent me on my way with the angry woman.

When I finally got to Havas' meeting office, she had a cautious, hesitant, and slightly worried look in her eyes.

"Ah, Acciala," Before she could sugar-coat whatever she wanted to say, I interrupted.

"What is it now, Havas?" I asked, annoyed, yet also worried.

"Well, the interview will start in a few minutes. Cole is being interviewed." Havas told me cautiously. "And a promise is a promise, but we thought you should watch it in here, with us."

_Translation: We don't trust you to watch this alone. _I thought to myself. _Alternate Translation: We don't want you to see this without supervision._

"Alright, when does it start?" I asked.

"In either a few minutesss or a few ssecondsss," Fangtom said.

I started to feel guilty again over what I had done during my private session in the Training Field the previous Snake Games, with his brother, unknown to me then, witnessing the whole thing.

_I had made a doll dummy to look like Skales, then hung it and shot an arrow at it. I then drew on its chest, in red, the late Hypnobrai's name. It was only after did I realize poor Fangdam was there._ _The previous best friend, that was so stupid of me to do. _I thought, regretting my choice. _At least I got a high score._

It was only then that I realized Fangdam was sitting at the table, right of Havas, left of Skalidor, and directly across from his brother.

"Now then, if what Fangtom sssayss iss true, the interview should be on any sssecond now," Skalidor concluded aloud.

As if on cue, the television Havas had set up on the right side of the room lit up, revealing Lasha and Cole sitting in the interview chairs, ready to begin.

"Cole," I breathed in relief, shock, and thanks. "You're alive."

Cole was in a simple black suit, with a cold, yet firm and serious. Lasha, on the other hand, is smiling warmly and waving at the crowd.

"Ssso…Cole…great to see you again," Lasha started in an uncertain manner, smiling to the Cole as he did to the crowd.

Cole smirked slightly.

"I'll bet someone money you weren't planning on ever hearing from me again," He stated in an almost secretive tone of voice. Lasha nodded.

"True, very true, I'll admit, when the Sssnake Gamesss ssstarted, I persssonally didn't think of ever ssseeing or hearing from you again," Lasha continued. "But, I believe we all know what you were planning to do."

"Sacrifice myself for Acciala? If so, you're exactly right," Cole responded, still with a cold as stone gaze. "Simple, quick, and clear, that's how it should have been. But other people had their own plans. Other people had their own schemes and tactics that I, at the time, didn't know of."

"Do you think Acciala knew?" Lasha asked.

"I have no idea. Probably not, though, I trust her. She would have told me." I felt shocked, shocked and touched.

_He trusts me. He trusts me even though I left him in the Landscape, to the mercy of the Serpentine. And he still trusts me. _I thought in amazement to myself.

"Anyway, Cole, can you help uss sssort ssome thingsss out from the Landscape?" Lasha asked. Cole nodded quickly and seriously.

"First, you have to really try to understand how it feels like to be in the Landscape. To know that your plan involves you dying for the one you love. Like, it felt like a firefly in a jar. You can't go anywhere, do anything, you're trapped and you can't get out unless someone lets you. The jungle around you, green, living, but ticking. The clock was ticking and I knew it; we all did. The clock was ticking down to the minute I would die for Acciala to live. It filled me with many feelings, I felt brave that I was dying for my love to live; I was honestly scared because I didn't want to die, and, mostly, regret. I regretted not being able to protect her until the very end." Cole explained, looking down with 'regret.'

I was shocked again.

_How ignorant was I? I didn't even realize any of this! _At that moment, I realized how ignorant and oblivious I had been to so many people. And I felt horrible for it.

"Only one could be saved. Only one winner, one survivor, and I was determined that winner would be Acciala. And the plan was that I was to die for that to happen." Cole explained further. "Once you enter the Landscape, the outside world is nothing more than a memory. Everything and everyone who ever meant anything to you, good or bad, almost seemed to disappear. Everything in the Landscape, the other fighters, the jungle, and the Cube, those are the final things you would probably ever see. And in the Snake Games, you get one chance. Either kill, or be killed. Dying is your choice for most of the time. Defending your family is completely optional; Optional and extremely costing."

Lasha nodded again.

"It costssss your life, doesn't it?" Lasha asked.

"Not just your life, murdering innocent people, it costs everything you are, were, and ever will be." Cole replied.

"Really now?" Lasha asked.

"Completely." Cole responded simply.

"Now, did you know anything about the whole explosion thing? Or wasss that a last minute ditch effort?" Lasha asked.

"I don't think Acciala knew what she was doing. She was under a spell, in a way. She knew only that she wanted to protect Lloyd and I. She must have thought blowing open the Landscape would somehow help." Cole covered my case, but his anger was clear on his face and in his tone of voice.

"Sssso, do you think she wanted, or ssstill wantsss, to help out the rebellion?" At this, Cole was standing, his hands turned into fists, and his eyes burned like a raging fire.

"She didn't know what she was doing! She just wanted to get out alive, and have as many survivors as possible. She didn't know her actions would cause rebellion, Lasha; she was influenced negatively by our status! Some moron thought it would be a great idea to use her as a symbol for trouble." Cole raged. Lasha got Cole to sit back down before continuing.

"Sssso, you want no war, no rebellion, and pretty much a cease fire?" Lasha asked.

"Yeah, a cease fire. Because once we all kill each other and die out, then what? What do we expect to happen? A decent species to inhabit Ninjago?" Cole remarked.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that," Lasha tried to follow Cole's logic. Tried, and failed.

"I mean if we don't stop before the war starts, then we'll all die out, Ninjago will go up in flames, and eventually, nothing will be left but a smoldering remain of a once great land." Cole told him. "Now, if my guard would kindly take me back to my room so I can make more card houses, I'll be on my way."

Cole got up and walked offstage as if he had every right in the world to do so, leaving a confused Lasha behind.


End file.
